I Forgot My iPhone Passcode, What Should I Do?

While entering a passcode into our device wastes a few minutes of our lives almost every single day, they are incredibly important to have. Without them, our entire devices would simply be open for anyone to tinker with and look at. As a result, they are very important to have. While things like Touch ID and Face ID have proven helpful in opening our devices quicker, most people still have a passcode as a backup in case those new technologies don’t work for one reason or another.

However, there is one issue that often comes along with passcodes, and that is the fact that people often forget them. And forgetting your passcode is much different than forgetting your password for most services. Whereas most accounts you can just reset your password or get it sent to you, that is not the case with the iPhone passcode.

Unfortunately, if you have forgotten your iPhone passcode (and your Touch ID or Face ID isn’t working or set up for some reason), your only course of action is to actually reset your device and restore it back to its factory settings. Also, be careful about trying to guess or passcode or trying to put a bunch of random numbers in. If you enter the wrong password 6 times in a row, you will be locked out for a period of time and the device will be enabled. So if you don’t remember your password, trying out two dozen different potential options isn’t the way to go.

As you know, erasing your iPhone or restoring it will cause you to lose all of your data. However, if you had a backup done on your device before you forgot your passcode, there is a good chance that you can save some or all of your data, apps and information. So if you don’t have a backup right now, it is a very good idea to get one done real soon. They only take a few seconds or minutes to do, and can save you a lot of future hassles.

Without any further ado, let’s take a look at the few different things you can do when your forget your iPhone passcode. They all have to do with erasing and restoring your device. While most of the time you can do that directly on the device, you can’t even get onto your phone in this scenario, so that is out of the question. The three main ways to restore your device are through iTunes, through Find My iPhone/iCloud or through using recovery mode.

Erasing and Resetting/Restoring Your Device Through iTunes

If your iPhone is synced with iTunes and you have your computer handy, this is likely the easiest and simplest way to restore your device. Simply connect your iPhone to your computer and then open iTunes. Sometimes this may prompt you to provide your passcode and if it does, move down to the third option. If it doesn’t ask for your passcode, you are good to go. Before restoring your device, you should try setting up a backup, as that will save your information from permanently being erased. Once that is done, simply hit the Restore button and the re-setup your device once the process is completed.

Erasing and Resetting/Restoring Your Device Through iCloud/Find My iPhone

If you don’t have your computer nearby, this option can be done with anyone’s device or computer. However, to do this, you will need to ensure that you had Find My iPhone set up on your device. If you did, then go ahead and go to icloud.com/find on the other device. When prompted, enter your Apple ID and password and it should log you in. Next, go to your devices and select the one that you want to erase. From there, you can either restore from a backup you have or can simply set the device up as new.

Erasing and Resetting/Restoring Your Device Through Recovery Mode

If you have never synced with iTunes and didn’t have Find My iPhone enabled, this is the only way to reset your device and thus, get a new passcode. All you have to do here is connect your iPhone to a computer, start up iTunes and while it is connected, perform a force restrart on your device. A recovery mode screen should pop up on yoru iPhone and then the computer should have a pop up that will allow you to restore your device. This process can take a little longer, but is still worth it to finally be able to use your iPhone again.

By using one of these three suggestions, you should be able to finally use your device again. Hopefully, you had a backup installed so you could save some of your information, but even if you didn’t, at least you can use your phone again. And if you haven’t had this happen to you yet, let this be a reminder to you to ensure that you have your iPhone passcode recorded somewhere in case you forget it.